Replies

“GREENVILLE, S.C. - Tests showed no signs of contamination at a post
office where a vial containing the deadly poison ricin was found, federal
officials said Thursday. The post office was shut down Wednesday night and
workers moved to another location after federal health officials
determined material in a vial found inside an envelope a week earlier was
ricin….Health workers took 80 samples from the post office, which postal
officials said would reopen Friday afternoon….A letter in the envelope
contained a warning that large amounts of ricin would be dumped into
drinking reservoirs if the federal government did not change a rule
requiring truckers to rest after 10 hours on the road, said a senior law
enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity. …Officials said
it was unlikely the letter's author could carry through on that threat.
Thousands of pounds of ricin would be necessary to contaminate water
supplies, and exposure to chemicals used in water treatment would probably
render the ricin harmless….The envelope with the vial carried the
typewritten message ‘caution-Ricin-poison’ on the outside, according to a
statement by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. It arrived at a
facility between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Oct. 15, the sheriff's office said.
A postal worker noticed the wording and law enforcement officials were
called.”